All right, this is going to be our last regular post until Monday, though we will be back on Friday to let you know about any great Blu-ray or 4K deals worth mentioning. But we do have a few things for you...

In release news today, it appears that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s The Birth of a Nation will now street on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 1/10.

And Universal Studios Home Entertainment has set October Sky, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and It Came from Outer Space for Blu-ray release on 2/14. These have been Best Buy exclusives up to now. Note that It Came from Outer Space includes both 2D and Blu-ray 3D on the same disc. You can see the cover artwork below.

Also, Disney’s Pinocchio: Walt Disney Signature Collection Blu-ray is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

Here’s a look at the cover artwork for all of the above (click on the covers to pre-order each on Amazon)...

And that’s all for this week. We’d like to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels as you head out to be with family and friends! We’ll see you back here on Friday. Eat lots of good food and watch lots of great movies. Peace out!

Now then... we have confirmation today that Best Buy will be carrying a trio of Universal catalog films on Blu-ray as retail exclusives, at least for a few weeks, starting on 10/4. They include Joe Johnston’s October Sky (1999), It Came from Outer Space (1953 – on Blu-ray 3D with 2D), and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) starring Don Knotts. You can see the cover artwork below. Click on the covers to visit the Best Buy pre-order pages for each...

We expect these titles to go into wide release on Blu-ray later in 2016.

In release news today, Scream Factory has announced that it’s working on a new Blu-ray edition of Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador’s The House that Screamed, a 1970 AIP title, for release later this year. Also coming on 12/6 from the company is Bob Clark’s Black Christmas: Collector’s Edition.

20th Century Fox has just announced the 9/27 release of Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. It’s actually got a lot of extras, including deleted and extended scenes, alternate takes, audio commentary, and more. But still, it’s Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates. So you know.

PBS Home Video will release the Forces of Nature documentary series on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/1.

Kino Lorber is working on a new Blu-ray and DVD release of Enzo Barboni’s Chuck Moll: The Unholy Four (1970 - aka Ciakmull: L’uomo della vendetta). This Italian spaghetti western stars Leonard Mann and Woody Strode.

In other news, Best Buy has just listed a new Blu-ray edition of Joe Johnston’s October Sky for Blu-ray release on 10/4. This may be a Best Buy exclusive, and we have reason to believe that it may be accompanied by Bowfinger as well. Both are new to the Blu-ray format.

And finally today, we need to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of the legendary actor Gene Wilder. If he’d done nothing more than play Jim the “Waco Kid”, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, and Willy Wonka on the big screen, his career would have been a triumph. But just think of it: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Silver Streak, Another You, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, The Producers, The Frisco Kid... what an amazing body of work! It’s hard to imagine the fabric of our film-going lives without him in it. And it’s impossible imagine any of those films without his quiet talent, without those eyes and that smile. Thanks for everything, Gene. You’ll be missed. Wilder was 83. You can read more here at Variety and The New York Times. And please feel free to visit our post on the news on Facebook to share your thoughts on what Wilder and his career have meant to you. Meanwhile, we’ll leave you with a favorite photo of Gene with Cleavon Little in Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974). Still one of the greatest comedies – and satires on race in America – ever made.

The big industry news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is launching their own Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) Blu-ray program called the Choice Collection. These titles will be presented in full HD. The first batch will street on 9/6 with the arrival of The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) and The Next Karate Kid (1994). Then in October, these will be followed by Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984), a Marie Antoinette: 10th Anniversary Edition (2006), and the music documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005). Here’s what those first two titles will looks like...

As you can see by the included artwork there, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has also just announced the Blu-ray 3D Combo, Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo release of David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan on 10/11, with a Digital HD release expected on 9/20. Extras on all disc-based versions will include 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Tarzan Reborn, Battles and Bare-Knuckled Brawls, Tarzan and Jane’s Unfailing Love, Creating the Virtual Jungle, and Gabon to the Big Screen) and a Stop Ivory PSA.

You may also have noticed that we included the cover artwork for Cinelicious Pics’ release of the recent 4K restoration of Leslie Stevens’ Private Property (1960) on Blu-ray on 10/11. The film stars Warren Oates.

Speaking of MOD, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just announced new Fox Cinema Archives titles for release on MOD DVD, including Map of Hell (2016) which is now available, No Man Left Behind (2016) coming on 8/23, Original Sin: How Sex Changed the World (2016) on 8/30, and Gerald R. Ford: A Test of Character (2016) on 9/6.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has also announced a number of new TV titles for release on DVD only, including The Great Human Race: Season 1, Animal Storm Squad: Season 1, Bob’s Burgers: The Complete 5th Season, Primal Survivor: Season 1, and The Greeks: Season 1 (all available now), United States of Animals: Season 1, The Yard: Season 1, and Southern Justice: Season 3 (available on 9/13), and finally Port Protection: Season 2 (due on 9/27).

Meanwhile, Amazon.ca has just listed Joe Johnston’s October Sky (1999) for Blu-ray release on 10/4 in Canada. It’s not listed yet for release in the States, nor has it yet been added to the studio’s U.S. press site, but hopefully we’ll see it soon.

The Film Detective will release Patterns on Blu-ray on 9/27, based on a screenplay by Rod Serling.

Back to Warner for a moment: We’ve mentioned some of these before (back when they first appeared for pre-order on Amazon.com) but the studio has just announced that they’re releasing a trio of Stephen King catalog horror titles available on Blu-ray on 9/20, including It, Cat’s Eye, and Salem’s Lot, each mastered from brand new transfers.

Finally today, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of veteran Hollywood director Arthur Hiller on Wednesday, whose work included Love Story, The In-Laws, Silver Streak, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and many more. He was 92. You can read more here at The New York Times.